Old Friends, New Friendships
by fyounyu
Summary: Tristan's back. Here comes the insanity. Reposted with, hopefully, less grammar and spelling mistakes.


"Tristan

Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with Gilmore Girls. I'm just trying to put together complete sentences.

"Tristan?"

His eyes flew to her face.

"Rory?" he asked in awe.

Paris smiled. She knew this would happen from the second Tristan had called to tell her he was going to Yale. They had kept in touch over the years and she was glad they had.

"So you two remember one another" said Paris.

"How could I forget" whispered Tristan.

"Well that's perfect. Now Rory won't have to ask me who the weird guy on our couch is."

"Huh?" asked Rory. "Our couch?"

"Well" explained Paris. "Tristan called me a few weeks back to let me know he was coming to Yale. I asked him where he was living and he said he didn't know yet. So being the great friend that I am. I offered him our couch" said Paris.

Rory was in shock. Not only was Tristan back in her life, but he had only been there for a minute, and now he was living with them.

Tristan noticed Rory's discomfort and spoke up. "Hey you know I don't actually have to stay here. It was really nice of Paris to offer, but its ok. I didn't know you were Paris' roommate. I can stay with other friends" he said hoping to ease Rory's discomfort.

"What other friends?" said Paris "You said you didn't now anyone here"

Rory saw the look in Tristan's eyes and spoke up. "Of course it's fine if you stay here Tristan. I'm sorry I'm just a little shocked that's all. It's good to see you again" she said genuinely smiling.

'Tristan Dugrey is standing in your living room. Tristan who made your life hell. Tristan who almost broke up your relationship. Tristan who went to military school and is now wearing fatigues and dog tags is standing in your living room. Oh yea, I'm hallucinating' she thought.

"Thanks" Tristan said softly.

Still smiling Rory spoke up. "Let me get you some sheets and stuff. The fridge is stocked feel free to help yourself if anything. Our home is your home" she said as she moved to the linen closet.

"Ok guys, I have to go see Doyle. I'll be back in a little bit" she said as she slipped out the door.

Rory walked over to the couch and started to make it up.

"Here let me do that" said Tristan. "It's the least I can do."

Taking the sheets from Rory he began to pull them over the couch. As he stretched to the other side he couldn't help the wince that escaped his lips.

Though it was quiet, Rory noticed. "You shouldn't be doing that. You're out guest" she said as she said as she went back to making up the bed.

Tristan knew she wasn't saying anything out of politeness, and mentally kicked himself for being so weak.

Once the couch was made and Tristan was settled in an awkward silence took over.

"I'm sorry about my reaction before. I just didn't expect to see you. But that doesn't mean I'm not glad you're back. I hated the way thing ended between us and I'm really happy you're here" said Rory

"Thank you" said Tristan softly. "Would you mind if I go take a shower" he asked.

"Sure" said Rory. "I actually have to go pick up a book from a friend. I'll be back in a bit" she said as she gave him one last smile before exiting.

Once she was gone Tristan fell back on the couch, wincing again. 'God damn Paris. She did this on purpose' he thought. 'How am I supposed to live under one roof with Rory?' He sighed as he got up and went to take a shower.

--

Rory opened her door, book in hand. Turning around she collided with a wall. A very wet wall. Looking up from her spot on the floor she saw that the wall was in fact Tristan, and he was shirtless.

"Err…sorry" he said giving her his hand and helping her up.

"Thanks" she said looking anywhere but him.

Noticing her uneasiness he quickly grabbed a shirt and put it on.

"Sooooo" Rory began "Yale huh, how did that happen?"

"It's a good school. Plus the army is paying for it, so who am I to complain."

Rory was shocked. "The army is paying for you to go to Yale? Full time?" she asked.

"Yea" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"But you have to be smart" said Rory instantly mentally kicking herself for saying the dumbest thing she could.

Tristan looked down for a second before looking up again and sighed.

"Look Rory. I know you don't like me. I know you don't think much of me. I appreciate you letting me stay here and I promise I'll try to stay out of your way" he said quietly.

"Tristan I didn't mean-" Rory began.

At that moment Paris bounced into the room. "Hey guys, I just heard about a party. It's an end of vacation thing. It's starting in 30 minutes and we're going" she said as she walked into her room to get ready.

Rory was the first to speak. "We should get dressed. You know what happens when you don't do something Paris says" she said smiling.

Tristan nodded slowly not looking at her. "Yea, I remember" he said as he went into the bathroom to change.

--

Forty minutes later the three of them were standing in a room full of drunken teenagers.

"Ok guys I'm gonna go find Doyle. Have fun" she said as she wandered away.

Tristan looked around the room. It reminded him of Chilton; the booze, the half naked girls. This was his old life; he had nothing to do with it anymore. Plus the damn music was giving him the biggest headache.

Rory looked around the room, wishing she hadn't listened to Paris. She couldn't believe she had been dragged here, by Paris of all people. Sighing she opened her mouth to ask Tristan if he wanted food, but quickly shut her mouth when she saw him holding his head. Touching him gently on the arm, she was surprised when he looked up startled and backed away from her with such strength he hit the wall. Taking a moment he relaxed.

"I'm sorry" he said, but Rory shook her head.

"It's ok. Do you want to get out of here" she asked.

"Yes, please lets" he said gratefully.

--

Tristan sighed in relief when he walked into Rory's dorm room. Collapsing on the couch he let his head drop back.

"I know it was loud in there, but I don't think I've ever seen you run away from a party so fast" she teased. When Tristan didn't smile she tried again.

"Tristan?" she asked

"Hmmm."

"You ok" she asked concern evident in her voice.

Slowly he lifted his head from the couch, like it was the most painful thing he'd done in a while.

"Yea" he said, but Rory wasn't buying it.

"You're not ok" she stated.

"Then why did you ask!" yelled Tristan, immediately regretting it. "I'm sorry" he said sighing. "It's been a tough few days, my head hurt, the music wasn't helping."

"It's ok" she said sitting down next to him.

They sat there in silence when Rory spoke up.

"Are you ok" she asked

"Didn't you just ask me that?"

"No I mean are _you _ok, not your head."

"I'm……………..I don't know" he said. "I'm just tired, haven't had a lot of sleep."

"Ok" she said getting the hint. "Good night Tristan, sweet dreams"

"Goodnight Rory" he said.

--

Rory woke up feeling strange. Tristan being back in her life seemed surreal. She didn't think she would ever see him again, and here he was on her couch. Except it wasn't the same Tristan anymore, he had changed. Sighing she got up. Walking out into the living room she heard panting. 'Please don't let Doyle and Paris be at it again', but stopped that train of thought when she found the source of the noise.

Tristan was doing pushups. And he wasn't even doing regular pushups, he was doing one handed pushups. She watched him quietly. She watched every muscle that moved in his back, his arms, and his abs. She watched the look of concentration on his face and he stared at the wall ahead. 'Stop drooling' she told herself, but really didn't want to. Her train of thought was broken when she heard a thump and realized he had collapsed on the floor.

"Oh my god, Tristan!" she screamed and was by his side in an instant.

He rolled over holding his side. 'Stupid moron' he thought. 'The doctor told you not to push it.'

"I'm ok" he said as his fists clenched in pain.

"You are not ok" said Rory as she helped him onto the couch. "What the hell just happened?"

"Nothing" he said. She gave him a look. "Really, it's nothing. I just over did it a bit" he said.

Sighing she accepted his answer. 'He'll tell me if he wants to.' Switching topics she said "why are you up so early?"

"Habit" he said. "I can't really sleep more than a few hours a night."

"You must be exhausted" she said.

"I'm used to it."

She rolled her eyes. "You may be used to it but that doesn't mean its ok. It's 6am. The only reason I'm up is because I need to go over some papers before classes start. Just please go back to sleep Tristan" she said.

"I….I can't" he whispered.

Not sure of what he meant, but no wanting to pry she got off the couch and gently pushed him down. Fluffing the pillows, she took a blanket and covered him with it. She sat cross legged on the floor and looked him in the eyes. "Go to sleep Tristan" she said as she stroked his hair.

He knew this was wrong. He shouldn't have let her do this. Her taking care of him would just help his old feelings for her resurface. 'Bullshit. They resurfaced the second you saw her.' He thought. He wanted to tell her to stop, but he really was so tired, and her touch was calming. He could feel himself losing the battle with consciousness and slowly drifted off.

Hearing his breathing even out, she pulled the blanket up to his shoulders, and kissed his forehead. "Sweet dreams" she said as she began to get her things in order.

--

When Tristan woke up again, it was 11 am. His first class was at one. Sighing he got up and stretched making sure not to aggravate his injury. After taking a shower and grabbing some food from the mini fridge he bought and stocked, he saw that it was still only 11:45am.

As he moved to get his books, Paris walked into the living room.

"Good morning" she said.

"Morning" he said giving her a smile and turning back to his books.

"So when are you going to stop being a moron" she asked getting straight to the point.

His head flew up. "Huh?"

"When are you going to stop being a moron and tell her that you're still in love with her" she said.

Tristan sighed. He knew it was too good to be true when Paris just let him stay in her dorm room. He was sure there was ulterior motive, and now he knew what it was.

"Paris…" he began only to be cut off.

"No. You love her. I know that much. You have since you laid eyes on her. And now you have a chance. Do something about it" she said. "Now I'm going to go to class, and you two better be married by the end of the year."

After Paris left, Tristan thought about what she said. He was still in love with Rory; there was no point in denying it. But nothing could happen, he couldn't let himself love her, and he definitely could never let her fall for him. 'Not like she ever would' he thought bitterly as he walked out the door.

--

Rory walked back to her room. Classes had ended for the day and all she wanted to do was go to sleep. Unfortunately she had a paper to write. Walking into the room she smiled at what she saw. Tristan was lying on the floor on his stomach. One pen was tucked behind his ear, and another in his mouth. His face was scrunched up in concentration.

"Hey" she said softly. Unfortunately it wasn't softly enough.

"Ahh" Tristan screamed as he dropped the cup he was drinking from on the floor. The drop had only been a few inches so the cup had been spared. But the liquid had spilled. He turned around to look at the direction the sound had come from and saw Rory.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you" she said as she moved to clean up the spill.

Letting out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding Tristan spoke. "It's ok. Sorry about the spill. Guess I didn't hear you come in" he said ashamed that he had gotten scared so easily. 'You're supposed to be a soldier, jackass. Stop acting like a wuss.'

"It's ok. It's happened to all of us" she said.

Nodding Tristan sat back down on the floor.

"How were classes?" he asked.

"Ok" she said. "I've got a paper to write, but other than that I really like them."

Tristan nodded again and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Rory got up and walked over to the door. As she opened it Tristan saw a huge smile break out on her face and she launched herself at the person on the other side.

"Marty!" she yelled happily as she hugged him. "It's so great to see you. How have you been?"

"Good" he said as Rory dragged him into the room.

Turning around she saw Tristan looking at them. For a second she thought she saw hurt in his eyes, but it if was there then it was gone in a second.

"Oh I'm so sorry. Marty this is Tristan. He's a friend of Paris and mine from high school. He's staying with us for a while. Tristan this is Marty" she said.

The two boys gave each other a weak hi and silence enveloped the room again. Tristan was the first to speak.

"Hey so I'm gonna go grab some food. You guys catch up and stuff. I'll be back later."

"You don't have to go Tristan" said Rory, not wanting him to think anything was going n with Marty. 'Why do you even care' a little voice in her head asked.

"No it's ok. Really. I'll see you in a bit" he said as he gave her a small smile and left.

--

'Stupid Paris' he thought. 'Yea invite me to stay with you, so I can have my heart ripped out.' Walking to the cafeteria Tristan was so deep in thought he didn't notice the person walking towards him until he slammed into them.

"Wow" he heard. Looking down he saw Paris on the floor.

"Sorry" he grumbled as he helped her up.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you wandering around? Shouldn't you be making googly eyes at Rory" she asked.

"I don't think her boy friend would appreciate it" he said flatly.

"What boyfriend? What are you talking about?"

"Marty, I think that's his name. Anyway it doesn't matter. I just wanted to get some food. I'll see you later" he said walking by her.

'Marty?' Paris thought. 'What the hell is going on?'

"What the hell is going on?" Paris half yelled as she walked into the room.

Rory's head snapped up. "Huh?"

"What the hell is going on with you and Marty?"

"Me and Marty? Nothing. Why would you think anything was going on?"

"Because I just ran into Tristan and he looked like he had been kicked in the stomach. He said you were hanging out with your boyfriend" she said arching an eyebrow.

"Why would he think that" asked Rory.

"I don't know. Why would he" said Paris.

"Either way it doesn't matter. So what if he thinks Marty's my boyfriend?" asked Rory.

Paris sighed. They were so damn stupid.

"Because he's in love with you, you moron. How blind are you?" asked Paris irritated.

"WHAT? He is not in love with me Paris. What are you talking about?"

"He's in love with you Rory. He's been in love with you since Chilton. I've kept in touch with him you know. I've seen him. Every time I would mention your name his eyes would light up. I think thinking about you was the only thing that got him through the hell he was in?"

"Hell? What hell?"

"The army, Rory. What do you think I'm talking about?"

"Paris you're crazy he is not in love with me and he never was. He tried to make my life miserable in Chilton."

"No Rory, you're crazy, if you can't see it. You turned his world upside down. He didn't know what to do, so he resorted to second grade tactics. He's. In. Love. With. You. Whether you want to believe me or not doesn't matter" said Paris as she walked into her room.

Rory sat down on the couch. 'He's not in love with me. Paris is crazy.'

Just then the door opened and Tristan walked in.

"Hey" he whispered, closing the door behind him.

"Hey" said Rory. "You ok?"

"You've been asking me that a lot lately you know that"

"Yea I know. I'm just worried about you"

Tristan was quite for a minute. "Don't be" he said as he walked into the bathroom.

Rory sighed. 'Why was this so complicated?'

Tristan sighed as he felt the hot water hit his skin. God he missed hot showers when he was overseas. Not a lot of luxury when there's a war going on around you. 'Just a lot of people dying' he thought. Snapping himself out of it he grabbed a towel and stepped out of the tub. Drying himself off, he put on some sweats and walked back into the living room. When he walked out he noticed Rory had fallen asleep on the couch. Gently picking her up and carried her to her and put her on the bed. Pulling the covers over her he whispered "goodnight" as he shut the door and went to get some sleep himself.

Rory woke up and looked at the clock. 4:00 am flashed in big red numbers. Sighing she got off the couch- 'wait, I'm not on the couch. How did I get to my room?' she thought. Quietly she opened the door to her room and saw Tristan sitting on the floor staring at the wall.

Tristan heard the door open and sighed. He just wanted to sit there and stare at the wall, but all hopes of that ended when he heard his name being called.

"Tristan?"

"Yea?"

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"Couldn't sleep" he said. Rory looked at him. He looked so tired, but he hardly slept.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No" came the reply

"Tristan…"

"No, Rory, I don't want to talk about it" he said a little more forcefully.

"Ok" she said sitting down next to him.

"What are you doing" he said still looking at the wall

"I'm sitting with you" she said as thought it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Go back to sleep Rory."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I wanna know what's so interesting about the wall" she said.

Tristan smiled and shook his head a little. "You're a pain in the ass you know that."

Rory laughed. "I try." There was silence for a minute then Rory spoke again. "Look about earlier, when I said you had to be smart to get into Yale. I didn't mean it like that. It's just at Chilton you were always so…."

"Lazy?" he said.

"No….well yea" she said looking down.

Tristan sighed. "Chilton was…a drama, and I was the main character. In hindsight sending me to military school was the best thing my parents could have done for me. At least they were around to tell me what a failure I was becoming. I got my act together in military school, graduated with top honors and here I am."

"You're not a failure Tristan, you never have been you never will be, no matter what your parents say or said. I'm sorry about what I said and how it sounded, it was foolish of me. I'm glad you're here" she said smiling.

They sat there for a few minutes just staring at the wall; until Rory noticed Tristan yawn, despite the fact that he was trying to hide it from her.

"Oh for the love of god. Get up" she said.

"Huh"

"Get up Tristan"

Slowly he got to his feet wobbling a little. Rory steadied him and then proceeded to push him onto the couch.

"Go to sleep Tristan" she said as she tried to get him to lie down.

"Rory stop" he said wanting her to just leave him alone.

"No. Look I don't know what's going on with you. If you don't want to tell me, fine. But you can't keep going like this. You need rest" she said.

"Rory I-" but she cut him off pulling him to his feet.

"C'mon" she said dragging him into her room.

"Um, Rory, what are you doing" he asked as she pulled back the covers.

"I don't know what's going on with you and you won't tell me. But I do know that people, who have trouble sleeping, sleep better when they don't have to sleep alone. So get in" she said motioning to her bed.

Tristan was speechless. 'What the hell am I supposed to do in a situation like this?' Seeing his hesitation Rory walked up to him. "Tristan, please" she said. He could see the concern in her eyes and sighed. "I'll go sleep on the couch. I'll actually sleep I promise" he said.

"No. You won't. So get in" she said more forcefully this time. When he still didn't move she grabbed his hand and pulled him into bed with her.

"Stay" she said as she fluffed his pillow and her own. Pulling the covers over them she lay back down.

"Go to sleep Tristan" she said.

He wanted to say no. He wanted to run away, but he just couldn't. Her bed was warm and soft, and he was so damn tired. He closed his eyes and was out in minutes.

Feeling his breathe even out Rory sighed. Why wouldn't he just tell her what was wrong. Shaking her head she turned on her side and fell asleep.

--

Tristan woke up to the sounds of laughter. Stretching he looked at the clock to see it was 1:30 pm. His eyes widened. 'Holy shit' he thought as he got up and walked into the living room.

"Morning" he said

"Afternoon is more like it" said a woman Tristan remembered as being Rory's mom. He also noticed the guy next to her.

"This is Luke" said Rory. "And you remember my mom?"

"How could I forget" he smiled. "Nice to see you Ms Gilmore."

Instantly Lorelai's smile faded. "You call me that again and I'll make sure you never see the light of day"

Tristan was confused, and a bit scared. Taking pity on him Luke finally spoke up.

"She doesn't like it when you call her Miss Gilmore. She thinks it makes her sound old."

"Oh" was all Tristan could manage.

Rory and Lorelai broke into laughter.

"Sorry, but the look on your face was priceless" said Lorelai as her giggles died down.

"So, Tristan Military school and the army, huh" said Lorelai. "And here I thought you were gonna be an Abercrombie model when you grew up."

Everybody laughed and Tristan blushed a little.

"So" Rory said "you guys doing anything fun for Christmas"

Lorelai nodded her head enthusiastically as she began going over all the things she wanted to do.

Tristan stood there listening, until he heard his name being called.

"Huh" he said.

"I said would you like to come to our house for Christmas."

"Really?" he asked, not quite sure he was hearing her correctly.

"Yep" said Lorelai. "If you're staying with Rory and Paris you're obviously avoiding you family…and doing a good job might I add. So you should stay with us for Christmas. Paris is going somewhere fancy with her family, but we can show you around starts hollow, and feed you lots of coffee, and oh we can go ice skating and have snow fights and oh we can even bake a cake" said Lorelai, getting more and more hyped at the thought of having a guest. "Whaddaya say. Would ya, would ya, would ya?" she said bouncing up and down.

Tristan laughed. He could see why Rory was the way she was. "That's very generous of you. I'd love too"

"Great" said Rory. Then as an after thought added "but you don't have to bake the cake you know."

"Oh its ok I don't mind. Chocolate Forrest is my favorite" he said smiling.

The other three people in the room stared at him.

"You. Bake?" said Rory separating the words as if she couldn't come to fathom how the two could be related.

"Sure. I was the cook for my platoon" he said.

"You wouldn't know how to make coffee by any chance would you" asked Lorelai.

"Hazelnut or French Vanilla?" he asked.

Lorelai jumped out of her chair and looked at Luke. "I'm sorry. I think I'm in love with someone else" she said as she skipped over to Tristan and batted her eyes lashes at him.

Tristan doubled over with laughter, but straightened himself up and wiped away the tears at in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm good, really" he said, but broke out in laughter again as Lorelai moved closer to him.

"I don't think he likes me" she pouted as she walked over to Luke. "I guess you'll have to do" she said to him.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Ok we have to get going before she leaves me for the coffee cart guy. We'll see you guys later" he shouted as they walked out the door.

"I think they like you" Rory said smiling.

"They seem…nice" he said still shaking with laughter.

"Yea they are" Rory said as she started to laugh herself.

--

"Honey I'm hoooooooome" screamed Rory as she and Tristan walked into her house and dumped their bags on the floor.

Lorelai flew down the stairs and hugged them both.

"Oh my god, I'm so glad you guys are here Luke is being such a pain and he wont let me have coffee and Sookie baked cookies but Tristan here still promised us a cake and he should keep his promise and-"

"MOM!" screamed Rory.

"What?" asked Lorelai?

"Calm down. Geez" she said as Lorelai skipped into the kitchen.

"See this is why coffee is bad for you" said Tristan and laughed as Rory gave him an evil glare.

"C'mon I'll give you a tour of the town" said Rory and dragged him out the door.

--

"So that's stars hollow" he asked as the walked into the house, holding the bag of things they had gotten for her room.

"Yep, that's stars hollow. Sorry about Ms Patty. She can be a little to friendly" she said.

"Yea well tell that to my butt" he said wincing from how hard she had pinched him.

"Yea well your butt is rock solid. I think it'll live" she said. A second realized she turned beet red, realizing what she just said.

Tristan gave a small laugh. "Yea well if nothing else military school will turn you into a rock. Whether you like it or not."

"Lots of push-ups" Rory asked, glad there was no awkwardness.

"And chin-ups and crunches and lots of other fun things that made you feel like a pile of jell-o."

Rory thought about what he had said. The mental image was definitely pleasant. She imagined him in white tank top and camouflage pants doing lots of push-ups, covered in sweat. 'Bad Rory' she thought. 'Stop thinking about him like he's a piece of meat.'

"Yea well whatever it was you look better for it" she said.

Tristan smiled. 'Is she flirting with me?' "Well you're not exactly ugly yourself Ms Gilmore. You know since were throwing complements each others way" he said.

Rory smiled. "C'mon, let's go see how all that crap looks in my room" she said as they headed up the stairs.

As Tristan walked into her room, he looked around. 'Man, if she only knew how many fantasies I had that involved this place.' "It's pretty much like I pictured it."

"You pictured my room?" she asked.

Tristan laughed. "Are you kidding? My entire sophomore year was spent fantasizing about you and this room" he said. Suddenly it was his turn to turn beet red. 'Idiot. I can't believe I just said that.'

Rory's eyes widened. "You did?" she asked.

"I…well…" he mumbled. 'Aww to hell with it' he thought. "Yea I did. It was pretty much all I did" he said lowering his eyes to the floor.

Rory looked at him. 'Holy shit, Paris was right' she thought.

Walking up to him she touched his arm. His head shot up and he looked at her. Stepping closer she closed the space between them, and surprised herself when her lips touched his.

Tristan stared at her. 'Rory's kissing me. Rory Gilmore is kissing me. Shut up you moron and kiss her back.' His arms came around her pulling her to him, deepening the kiss. As her hands slid under his t shirt he gasped.

"Rory" he moaned as her lips moved down to his neck. His hands went around the edge of her shirt slipping it over her head. Then they moved down to unbutton her jeans. She kicked them off her legs and Tristan pulled back to look at her.

"I can't" he said.

"You...what? Why?"

"I just can't. I'm sorry Rory" he said dropping his head in his hands.

"Shhhh" she said putting her clothes back on. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to. It's just….why don't you want to?" she asked quietly.

He sighed. "It's not that I don't want to. I do. Lord knows I do, but this, you and me, I…." he trailed off and began again. "I love you Rory" he said ignoring the way her eyes almost popped out of her head. "I love you in Chilton I loved you in military school and I still love you. I can't for one second imagine why you would want to be with me and I won't be able to take it if you one day figure out I am loser that you want to get rid of" he finished quietly.

Rory sighed. "I… this is bullshit. The Tristan I knew thought he was god. What happened?" she asked.

Still looking down he began to speak. "About three months ago I told me dad I was being discharged. I...I had an accident. It isn't life threatening, I broke a few bones, got some scars, I ruptured my spleen, they had to remove it. I'm still technically recovering from that. I spent a while in the hospital, seeing some of the other injured soldiers…" his voice trailed off. "The nightmares started after that. "They told me to take a break. I thought it was the perfect time to try college and since I was number one in the class they offered me a full scholarship anywhere I wanted to go. I called my dad to tell him the good news. Finally I was doing something he would be proud of…yea right. He yelled at me. Told me there was no way I was going to Yale. 'Dugrey men go to Harvard and that is where you'll go.' I said no. He said I was a loser, disgrace to the family name, blah blah. Then he hung up. A few minutes later my mother called. She wanted to know why my father was so mad, so I told her what I told him. Her reply? 'Don't be silly dear, you'll never get in. Just let your father make a phone call and you'll be all set at Harvard. I hung up the phone. I haven't spoken to them since" he finished and Rory could see tears making their way down his cheeks.

"Your parents are idiots" she said wiping away his tears. "You're a wonderful, smart, caring person. Screw what they said."

Tristan stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

Rolling her eyes Rory pushed him back onto the bed and began unbuttoning his pants.

"Rory, what are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing Tristan?" she said as she pulled off his pants and slid her hand inside his boxers.

"Oh yes" he whispered. He hadn't felt anything that good in a long time. Just the idea of her touching him like that was sending his senses into overload.

Rory's hands were on his legs rubbing his calves. When she heard him groan she squeezed her hand harder and began moving it up and down.

Tristan was going crazy. He never knew it was possible to want anyone this badly. He wanted to pin her against a wall and fuck her senseless, but he couldn't ring himself to stop her from what she was doing. Her hand had created the perfect rhythm. Up and down, squeeze soft, squeeze hard. It was driving him mad.

"Rory" he moaned and felt her lips form a smile around him.

"Yes?" he asked innocently.

Tristan didn't know what to say. There was so much he wanted to say, but all that came out was "harder."

Rory smiled and got back to work. Squeezing him in her hand she smiled as he started moaning non stop. He was leaking like crazy and she knew he was about to cum.

Tristan felt the tingles start. He knew he was about to cum. He reveled in the sensations he'd been denied for so long. As Rory's hand slid between his legs and began to squeeze his balls he arched of the bed and exploded.

"Oh. God. Yes" he grunted as he erupted all over her hand.

Rory waited a few minutes so he could catch his breath.

"So" she asked coyly "feeling better?"

Tristan just started at her. Then without warning he grabbed her and flipped them over. Sliding of her underwear he looked around for a condom. Grabbing one and putting it on he leaned down to kiss her he slid into her.

"Oh god" he said for what seemed like the millionth time that night.

Rory gasped as he slid into her. Her hands grabbed into his arms and squeezed trying to mimic what she had done to him earlier.

Tristan slammed into her as hard as he could. Every time he did so she tightened around him. He closed his eyes in an effort to hold back but knew he was loosing the battle.

Rory looked up at Tristan. His eyes were shut, sweat was pouring of off him and he was shaking. Slowly she started to move as well thrusting her hips up to meet his. She could feel the tingles start.

"Tristan" she moaned.

"I know" he moaned back.

He felt his legs tighten and the tingles spread. The sensation spread so rapidly he didn't know where it started. He felt Rory cum and as she squeezed him he gave in with a loud grunt.

"Gash" he let out as he collapsed on top of her, trying to catch his breath.

Immediately her arms went around him, rubbing his back. She kissed the top of his head as he used her chest as a pillow. When he started to get up she whispered "stay." Relaxing on top of her he instantly fell asleep. A few minutes later she joined him.

--

When Rory woke up Tristan was gone. For a moment she feared that he had reconsidered what he said and left after all. But when she turned her head and saw a note she sighed in relief.

_Rory,_

_Went for a run. Be back soon_

_Tristan_

Four hours later Rory had reread half the books in the house and drank half the coffee in star hollow.

_Ring Ring_

Sighing she got up to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Rory?" Lorelai said. She had been crying.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"You need to get to Hartford General. There's been an accident"

Rory went into autopilot. She got dressed and in less than five minutes was in the car on her way.

--

"Mom!" she screamed as she ran into the hospital.

Lorelai jumped out of her seat. "He's ok. He's gonna be ok. He's stable. The doctor said he'll be ok."

Rory sighed in relief. "What happened?"

"He was hit by a car while he was jogging. It was an accident. Tristan went up the wrong path and the driver didn't see him. The only reason I got here so fast is because Tristan had the inn's card in his pocket and the driver called."

"Can I go see him?"

"The doctor said as soon as he's awake."

Rory nodded and sat down. 'Damn, hasn't he been though enough.'

Just as she finished her thought the doctor came over to them.

"Are you here for Tristan?"

"Yes" said Rory jumping up.

"He's stable and he's awake. There was minimal internal damage, so he should be as good as new in a few weeks"

"Can I go see him?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes I'll show you to his room."

Following the doctor Rory braced herself. As she walked into the room she cringed. There were so many bandages on is body that, she didn't know where one ended and the other began.

"Tristan?" she asked

"Hmmmm" he said not quite conscious

"Hey" she said kissing his forehead. "The doctor says you're gonna be as good as new" She opened her mouth to say something else but heard the commotion outside.

"I'll be right back" she said kissing the inside of his palm.

She walked outside to see what was going on and saw her mom arguing with…Tristan's dad?

"What the…" she mumbled as she walked closer.

"Mom what's going on?"

"The asshole wants to see Tristan" Lorelai said. Everyone behind her gasped. Rory looked at the people standing next to Charles Dugrey and assumed they were business colleagues. 'Why the hell would they are at the hospital' she thought. As she opened her mouth to speak she saw her grandparents rush into the room with a blonde woman.

"Oh, Charles where is he?" she cried. Rory assumed she was Tristan's mother.

"He's down the hallway, but this…woman…is blocking my path" he said pointing to Lorelai.

"Lorelai, what are you doing" asked her mother. "Let the man see his son. This is no time for your-"

Now Rory was pissed.

"SON?" she asked walking closer to Mr. Dugrey.

"Since when is Tristan your son!" she screamed

"Now Rory" Emily opened her mouth to speak.

"Shove it grandma" said Rory curtly. The look on Emily's face was priceless.

"So Mr. Dugrey, since when is Tristan your son? Was he your son when you shipped him off to military school? Was he your soon when he was overseas? Was he your son when he came back and instead of helping him deal with everything you told him he wasn't smart enough to get into college without you pulling strings for him!?" She screamed her voice becoming louder with each word.

"Stay away from him you piece of shit, because if you ever come near him THE CONDITION TRISTAN IS NOW WON'T EVEN COMPARE TO WHAT I WILL DO TO YOU!" she screamed, her face so red Lorelai thought her head might pop off.

Everyone was speechless. The Dugrey just stood there with their mouths open.

Rory calmed down. "You think I'm gonna let you pretend that you've been parents of the year. You think I won't tell everyone here, including all your little rich friends exactly what crap you are. Think again. Stay away from Tristan" she said as she spun around and went back into his room.

Lorelai smiled as Rory disappeared into Tristan's room. 'I knew it. She loves him.'

Turning to her mouth she said "mom do me a favor. Take them and leave. I'll talk to you guys later, but no one wants them here right now." With that she went to get coffee.

Tristan heard the yelling. He wanted the yelling to stop so he could go back to sleep, but the voices just wouldn't shut up.

"Mmmmm" he tried to say something but his throat was to dry.

"Tristan?" he heard Rory ask.

"Rory?" he whispered, his voice scratchy.

"Yea. Hey" she said helping him sit up and bringing a cup of water to his lips.

"Do you remember what happened?" she asked.

"Mmm, no." he said. Then as an after thought he added "why is your house so white"

"We're not at my house Tristan. We're at the hospital. You were in a car accident"

It took Tristan a second to realize she said hospital, but as soon as he did he shot up and looked around.

"What? No. I have to go" he said frantically trying to get out of bed.

"Tristan? What? No. You have to stay" she said trying to get him to calm down, but he wasn't having it.

"No! I have to get out of here" he nearly screamed.

Right that second the doctor ran in followed by two nurses. One of them held his arm down and the other injected him with something.

The doctor started to speak. "I was afraid of this. I knew he might have problems when I say the dog tags. Soldiers who spend time in hospitals often react badly when brought in again. We gave him a sedative. He should be out for a few hours"

"What about after that doctor?" asked Rory.

"Well optimally I would want to keep him in the hospital for observation. But we can't keep pumping sedatives into him. I guess I'll have to release him, but from what I heard in the hallway, his parents don't seem like an option."

"He can stay with us" said Lorelai, walking into the room.

"This isn't for a few days Ms Gilmore. I know colleges are on break right now. If you were to take him in it would have to be until he went back to school. And even then he'd need someone to look after him."

"I cad do that" said Rory. "He was staying in my door room anyway."

The doctor sighed. "All right. But I have to warn you. This may cause flashbacks, and memories he was trying to not remember. He might get depressed, he might have nightmares. It won't be easy" the doctor warned.

"We understand" said Lorelai.

Nodding the doctor said "all right. I'll fill out the paper work and when he wakes up you can take him home."

Tristan's head felt funny. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. Slowly it all came back to him. The accident, Rory, the hospital. 'Oh god I'm in the hospital' he thought frantically as he tried to get up. Instantly there was a hand holding him down.

"Whoa. Down boy" he heard Rory say.

Seeing the desperate look in his eyes Rory went on "You're being released. Mom and I are taking you home. Ok?"

He nodded, "thank you."

Rory smiled and kissed the top of his head. "Ok first thing we need to do is get you dressed. Ok?"

Tristan nodded. His body hurt. He didn't want to move, but he wanted to get out of the hospital. Slowly Rory helped him slid on a pair of sweats and converse sneakers leaving the laces untied. Slipping the hospital gown of his shoulders Rory resisted the urge to grimace as she saw the marks covering his body. Helping him put on a long sleeved shirt she steadied him as he swayed from exhaustion.

"Easy there" she said as she sat him back down on the bed. "Luke and my mom are waiting for us in the truck, ok?"

He nodded, slowly getting up. She wrapped her arm around his torso, careful not to hurt him and slowly walked him to the car. Helping him into the back seat Rory slid in next to him, letting him lean on her.

Tristan looked at Lorelai. "Thank you Lorelai"

"Hah" she said. "See that's what's wrong with young people today. They think everything is about them" she said.

Tristan looked confused.

"You seriously think we offered for you to stay with us 'cusp we're so nice. Oh no palely. As soon as you're better you're baking us a chocolate Forrest cake" she said smiling.

Tristan started to laugh. "Of course. How could I have been so stupid?"

Rory smiled. She was glad he was smiling, and laughing, even if it was for a few minutes.

As Luke started the car silence fell over them. A few minutes later Rory looked over at Tristan and realized he had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

--

As the car pulled up to the house Rory gently shook Tristan.

"Hey sleeping beauty. Time to wake up"

Tristan groaned and opened his eyes.

"We're here" she said opening the car door and helping him out. Lorelai was ahead of them opening the front door.

"We should get you into bed" said Lorelai but reconsidered when she say the look in his eyes as he looked at the stairs. "Or not" she said.

"The couch would probably be better anyway. It's bigger and newer. My bed is small, old and sagging in the middle" said Rory.

"Couch sounds good" added Tristan. Anything to avoid having to go up those stairs.

"Ok let's get you into the den" said Rory.

"Den? You have a den" asked Tristan.

"Of course we have a den. You didn't think we meant the couch in the living room did you? Please Rory can barely fit on that couch" said Lorelai as she walked into the den.

Rory rearranged her hold on Tristan and led him into the den.

"See" said Rory "this is the couch we were talking about."

Tristan looked at it. It was at least twice as big as the one in the living room and it folded out. With Rory's help he lay down on it. It was soft, but not sagging. "Oh. God. Yes" he moaned.

Laughing Rory grabbed the pillows and fluffed them. "Rest" she said.

Nodding he closed his eyes and was asleep in minutes.

--

_It was dark. There were voices in the background. He couldn't see what was going on, but he had a feeling it wasn't something good. Suddenly there was an explosion. People were screaming, falling over. There was blood everywhere. _

"_Boohoo. Please, no" he cried._

Hearing the sounds coming from the den, Rory ran over to Tristan.

"Tristan" she whispered trying to wake him up. When he didn't respond she tried again. "Tristan" she said louder. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he shot up off the couch frantically looking around.

"Tristan it's ok. You're safe" she said trying to touch him. The second her hand touched his shoulder he scrambled back away from her.

"Tristan?" she said softly. He stared at her for a moment. "Rory?" he whispered trying to get his breathing under control.

"Yea. It's me" she said moving closer. "What happened?"

"B-blood. There was so much blood" he whispered tears streaming out of his eyes. Moving closer she tried touching him again. When he didn't move away, she put her arms around him and hugged him to her. "Tristan, it's ok."

"There was blood everywhere. Oh god" he moaned clutching his stomach. Not hesitating Rory got up, grabbed the garbage can in the corner and was at his side in a second. She placed the trash can in front of his face just in time for him to empty his stomach. Rubbing his back she tried not to breath, the smell wasn't pleasant. When he was done she covered the can with a plastic bag and went back to sit next to him. Hugging him to her she let him lean on her. She could tell he was exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

"Better?" she asked

"Yea. Thanks" he whispered.

Using one hand to hold him in place, she used the other to rearrange his pillows.

"Tristan? I'm gonna take of your sweater and pants, ok?"

He didn't move. Sighing she slid it up over his arms and off his body. Laying him down she undid the button on his jeans ad tugged them off. Putting the clothes aside she looked at him. He was staring at the ceiling. There were dried tears on his face and a blank look in his eyes. She pulled the cover over him and went back into the kitchen. She came back with a wet rag and gently wiped his face.

"Tristan" she said. He didn't respond. "Tristan, I need you to look at me" she said more forcefully. She smiled when he turned his head towards her.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" she asked. Slowly and unsurely he nodded.

Taking of her sweater she slid under the covers with him. His arms immediately went around her. She was surprised at how loose his hold was. It seemed like he was hugging her with as much strength as he had, but his arms were like jell-o. Stroking his back she said "go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

After a few minutes exhaustion took over and he succumbed to sleep.

--

Lorelai walked into the den and gently shook her daughter.

"Rory" she said.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm" said Rory slowly opening her eyes.

"Kitchen" whispered Lorelai as she moved out of the den.

Grabbing her clothes Rory put them on and followed her mother.

"How is he?" asked Lorelai.

"Bad. He was sick last night. I think he had a nightmare. He warned me about those" she said grimacing.

Lorelai noticed the look and spoke. "Rory it's not gonna be easy. He's been through a lot. It's gonna take a long time until he's ok. If you're not you to it then you should let him thing that you are."

"What! Mom, no. I'm not going to abandon him. Why would you even think that? I was just imagining him, alone in the hospital. He shouldn't have to deal with all this by himself" she whispered.

"And he won't. He's got you. He's got me. Schools out for another three weeks, hopefully he'll be better by then. But for now we'll take care of him" she said. "I have to get going. I have to look over some things at the inn. Call me if you need anything ok?"

Rory nodded as Lorelai gave her a hiss on the cheek and went out the door.

When Rory went back into the den she saw Tristan was awake and looking at her.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why what?" she asked in response.

"Why do you give a fuck about me? Why are you helping me" he asked trying to control the tears threatening to spill.

Rory sighed. "Because I love you, you moron. If you want me to keep saying it I will. I'll say it as many times as it takes for you to believe me. I love you and I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here; nightmares and all."

Tristan closed his eyes. "Thank you" he whispered.

"For what?" asked Rory?

"For loving me" he said so quietly Rory wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.

Sitting down on the couch she leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you" she said.

"For what" he asked opening his eyes.

"For giving me the chance" she said.

He started to smile, but it turned into a frown as he groaned.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Migraine" he choked out as his hands flew to his head.

"Let me get you some aspirin" she said getting up.

He grabbed her arm "no don't. It doesn't help" he whispered. "The doctor gave me something at the hospital. It probably wore off." he managed, his voice getting fainter, like it took all the energy he had to simply move his lips.

Nodding Rory tried to think of how she could help him. She realized there was probably no way when he curled into a ball and hid his face in the couch.

Sliding his head onto her lap, she stroked his back as he waited for the pain to pass.

"Ugh" he moaned as his head throbbed. Rory felt something warm in her lap and realized they were tears.

"Shhhhhhhhh" she whispered trying to comfort him. "How bad is it?"

"Ever have a brick hit your head?" he asked.

"No."

"Kind of like that, plus a car sitting on your stomach and a bat hitting you in the back."

Biting her lip Rory hugged him closer and rubbed his back.

A few minutes later Rory felt Tristan calm down.

"Better?"

"Yea" he whispered.

Helping him roll onto his back Rory pulled up the covers over him.

The second his eyes closed Rory could tell he was out.

--

An hour later Tristan slowly opened his eyes and saw three very fuzzy people looking at him.

"Hey kiddo, feeling better?" asked Lorelai.

"Wha-"

"I'll take that as a yes" said Lorelai as she got up.

"Ok so Luke and I are headed out. We'll stop by the dorm later and pick up Tristan's things. There's food in the fridge. You too crazy kids have fun and don't do anything that…" she paused for a second and looked at Tristan. "You know what, just don't do anything." She said as she grabbed Luke and they left.

Tristan looked at Rory and smiled.

"Hey" said Tristan trying to sit up.

"Hey back at you" she said helping him. She sat down on the couch so his back was leaning on her. Putting her hands on his shoulders she began rubbing them in small circles.

"Mmmmmmmm" moaned Tristan.

"You like?" she asked.

"God yes" he said his head falling back onto her shoulder.

Making sure not to hurt him more Rory slipped her hands under his shirt and pulled it over his head. Sliding her hands over his back she began to massage away the knots.

Tristan closed his eyes and reveled in the sensations Rory was creating. All he wanted to do was throw her against a wall and fuck her till they both passed out. However, at the current moment he barely had enough strength to adjust his pants, which were becoming increasingly tight.

Rory moved over his back slowly making sure to get every tight spot. As she passed an extra sore spot she heard Tristan wince.

"I'm sorry baby" she whispered as she kissed his back. Moving her lips to his neck she kissed every inch, smiling when she heard him moan as she sucked on a pressure point.

"Rooooooooory" he moaned.

Smiling even more Rory continued to kiss his neck and massage his back as one of her hands slipped under the blanket to rest on his lap, rubbing his thigh.

"Oohhhhhhhhhh god. Rory please" Tristan begged.

Sliding her hand in his pants she wrapped it around him and squeezed.

Tristan eyes flew open and he arched his back before falling back down. Taking his actions as encouragement she started moving her hand up and down squeezing as she went.

"You like that?" she asked.

"Yeesssss" he moaned as his hands gripped the sheets with as much strength as he had. When Rory's thumb brushed the tip Tristan almost flew of the couch.

"Rory!" he nearly screamed.

Unwrapping herself from around him she got of the couch.

"Wha-" Tristan asked confused. He was throbbing and moments away from exploding. She couldn't just leave him.

Walking around the foot of the couch Rory smiled as she pulled of her shirt and skirt, leaving herself in matching black bra and underwear.

Tristan's eyes flew open as he looked at her. Slowly but confidently she climbed on the couch on all fours and climbed on top of Tristan's legs straddling them. Sliding her hands under the covers, she yanked off his pants and threw them across the room. Wrapping her hand around him again she began pumping him.

Tristan let his head fall back on the couch, his eyes rolling back in his head. He groaned and grunted as Rory drove him crazy, resisting the urge to scream. When he felt her pull back the covers and take him in her mouth he jerked so hard that Rory gagged.

"Down boy" she said pushing him back down.

Tristan wanted to badly to flip them over and fuck her into the couch and cursed himself for not having the strength to do so.

"Rory I need to cum. Please baby, let me cum" he begged.

"Patience baby" she smiled wickedly.

Wrapping her hand around the base she squeezed hard while taking the tip in her mouth.

"Gash" grunted Tristan as he lay helpless.

His body was on fire. He could feel the pressure build and it drove him crazy. When Rory's hand squeezed him harder and her other hand spread his legs and began to rub his balls he knew he was seconds away. Using her hand to rub him while squeezing and tugging Tristan clenched his teeth as he felt himself seconds away from exploding.

"Rory. Please" he begged desperate to feel her.

"Patience baby" she smiled, her grin slightly wicked. She loosened her grip on him, using the lightest of touches to keep him on edge, but preventing him from going forward.

Tristan needed something. His hips had taken over and were jerking like crazy. Every time her hand ran over the tip he leaked more pre cum, preparing himself to explode, but never reaching it. Getting desperate he decided to take matters into his own hands, literally. Rory hadn't noticed his hand until she heard him groan. Looking down she saw his hand wrapped around the base squeezing as hard as he could. His eyes were shut, he was gritting his teeth, and his entire body was straining. All his energy was going towards breathing. When he felt his orgasm hit, he couldn't do anything except let himself explode.

"Ungh" he gasped as he came so hard he went momentarily deaf.

A minute later Rory heard him laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Smiling he answered. "I didn't even have to move and I still got off."

Rory opened her mouth to speak, but started laughing instead. "Feeling better?" she asked.

"After that? Are you kidding me? How could I not?"

Rory snorted. "You are such a guy."

"Well, yea" Tristan said looking down between his legs.

Rory laughed and rolled her eyes. Moving so she was facing him she kissed his forehead.

"Mmmmmmm" he moaned as he hugged her as hard as he could. "You make a very good pillow" he said maneuvering them so that she was under him.

"Are you calling me fat?" she asked.

"Yep" he said smiling and pinching her stomach.

Laughing Rory untangled herself from him. "You should get some more sleep" she said stroking his hair.

"I'm sick of sleeping. All I do anymore is sleep" he said.

"Well, it's not all you do" she said a small smile on her lips.

Tristan started laughing. "Ok it's not all I do, though technically you do more. I just reap the benefits. But I feel bad. I don't want you to spend your whole break taking care of me. Please Rory go do something fun. I'll be ok by myself."

Rory sighed. 'I'm making him feel like a child.' "Ok I'll go do something, but you are keeping your cell phone on and calling me if you feel even the slightest bit sick" she said.

"Yes mother" he said.

Rory laughed. "Ok I'm going. I'll see you later" she said kissing him on the cheek.

As soon as she was out the door, Tristan grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

--

It was a gorgeous day and though Rory felt bad leaving Tristan alone in the house she was glad she was getting some fresh air. She was so caught up in the scenery she didn't notice the person in front of her until she walked into him.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to…Jess?" she said her eyes widening.

"Rory?" he asked not believing he was seeing her.

"Jess what are you doing here?" she asked eyeing him curiously.

"I'm in town for a few days, visiting Luke. I just popped in on him, thought I would surprise him" he said.

"Oh, well that's great" she said.

"It's good too see you" he said.

"You too" she said as silence fell over them. A moment later she spoke up.

"Look I know things are weird between us. I don't want them to be weird between us. I want to be friends. I've missed you" she said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yea really. I'm running some errands, you want to keep me company?" she asked.

Jess smiled. "I'd love to" he said as they headed into the grocery store.

Two hours later Tristan was bored out of his mind. He was glad Rory was out of the house, but that left him all alone with nothing to do. Slowly getting up he began to get dressed. Twenty minutes later he was standing on the door step. 'Brilliant Dugrey. If it took you twenty minutes to put on shoes pants and a shirt it should only take you twenty hours to catch up with Rory' he thought as he closed the door and headed out.

--

"Isn't Tristan the guy you hated?" asked Jess as Rory filled him in on her life until now.

"I never hated him; I was just irritated by him. He was so cocky" she said. "But he's changed so much. He's matured and he's become a completely different person. A wonderful person."

"I'm happy for you" said Jess.

Rory raised and eyebrow.

"No really I'm happy. I'm sorry about the way things ended up between us. I was stupid and I didn't know what I was doing, but I'm glad you two found each other" Jess said.

"Thanks" said Rory smiling as Luke brought over some more coffee.

"Sorry to interrupt guys, but I just wanted to let you know that your mom and I picked up Tristan's things. They're in the back of my truck" he said.

"Thanks Luke." Turning to Jess she said "I should be getting back. I don't want to leave him alone for too long."

"Sure, let me walk you out" said Jess as they made their way to the door.

Once outside, Rory was the first to speak. "It was great seeing you. Let me know the next time you're in town ok?" she said as she gave him a hug and a kiss on the lips.

Jess raised an eyebrow.

"For old times" she said smiling.

Jess laughed. "Well if it for old times it should probably be more like this" he said as he pulled her to him and kissed her dipping her.

Once they were upright Rory pulled back and laughed. "Watch it buddy. I'm spoken for" she said.

Jess put up his hands laughing as well. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry. It was great to see you Rory" he said as they hugged once more, before they went in separate directions.

--

Tristan regretted leaving the house. 'You've been looking for two hours and all you've managed to do is make yourself dizzy' he thought as he walked up to a tree and leaned on it. 'Where could she be?' he thought. Then he saw her, only twenty feet away, she was in Luke's diner. 'Of course she's at Luke's, that's where the coffee is' he thought smiling. However his smile disappeared as he saw her sitting across from another guy. 'What the hell' he thought as he watched the two of them leave the diner. As soon as Rory and the mystery guy walked outside Tristan's world began to go in slow motion. 'He's kissing her. Why is he kissing her?' he thought expecting Rory to pull back and slap the guy. But she didn't instead she laughed and hugged him again. Tristan closed his eyes as he felt another migraine coming. Opening his eyes again, he saw Rory wave goodbye to him a huge smile on her face. Tristan watched them, feeling his heart break. 'I knew it' he thought. 'I knew she'd leave me. Why wouldn't she' he thought as he snorted tears making their way down his face. 'I'm the one who's fucked up, and she's perfect.' He stood there watching her watch the guy disappear. Turning around he closed his eyes and took in a deep breathe. Making sure Rory didn't see him he made his way back to her house as fast as he could.

--

As she watched Jess leave Rory smiled thinking about how great it was too see Jess again. Hugging the bag she was holding in her hand she quickly made her way back to the house.

--

Tristan barely made it back to the house and into the bathroom before he got sick. Wrapping his arms around the toilet bowl he moaned as his body shook with pain.

--

Rory walked into the house with a huge smile on her face.

"Tristan?" she called out. She was met with silence. Moving closer to the den she called out his name again. This time however she heard a moan. Running into the den she saw the couch was empty. A second later she heard the moan again and realized it was coming from the bathroom. "Tristan!" she screamed as she ran to him.

Dropping on the floor next to him she tried to help him, and was shocked when he pushed her away.

"Tristan?" she asked worried.

Pushing himself away from the toilet he leaned against a wall. "I knew it. I knew you'd leave me. I told you, you would. You didn't believe me" he said now fully crying.

"Leave you? What are you talking about?" she asked trying once again to help him, but once again he wouldn't let her near him.

"I saw you Rory. I saw you kiss him, and smile. I love you Rory. I hoped so hard you loved me too…" he trailed off as he began to sob harder.

Rory was flabbergasted. 'What the…OH MY GOD! HE SAW ME KISS JESS' she realized as her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh no, Tristan no. No baby please it's now what you think" she began.

"You love him, you don't love me" Tristan whispered as he began to lose consciousness from the pain.

"NO" Rory screamed with such force that it forced Tristan to open his eyes.

Moving next to him she took his face in her hands. "Listen to me Tristan please. I love you, so much. That was Jess; he's an old friend, and old boy friend. I ran into him. I didn't know he was in town. It was just for old times. Please, please believe me I don't love him. I don't even like him half the time" she joking, tears running down her face as well.

"An old friend?" asked Tristan trying to stay awake.

"Yes. An old friend. I was telling him about you. How much I love you. How happy I am you're back in my life. Please you have to believe me" she said taking him in her arms and cradling him, thankful that he wasn't trying to get away from her. "I love you Tristan. Only you. You're the one I want. Please believe me" she said hugging him and stroking his hair.

Tristan was silent and Rory was beginning to worry that she had lost him. However a few minutes later she heard something.

"I love you" he whispered, his words muffled by her hair.

Rory let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Releasing her hold on him she sat down with him leaning against her shoulder.

"Tristan, look at me please."

"MMMM, hurts" he moaned his head falling back.

"No Tristan you have to stay with me. C'mon. Please stay with me she said kissing his cheeks, forehead, face neck. Hugging him again she wrapped her arms around him trying to make him as comfortable as she could.

A few minutes later she heard him speak. "I'm sorry" he whispered.

"No please, don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about. It's my fault. I'm the one that's sorry, so sorry" she said as she hugged him tighter. Looking around her she gently moved her arm from Tristan and grabbed a bag that had been lying next to her.

"Tristan, can you open you eyes?" she asked.

"Hurts" he whispered.

"I know baby, but please just for a second" she said.

Slowly Tristan opened his eyes, groaning at the light. As he fully opened his eyes he saw Rory holding a metallic object. Focusing a bit harder he realized it was a ring.

"Rory what the…" he began but moaned and closed his eyes as a wave of pain hit him.

Putting the bag and ring down, Rory spoke.

"Tristan, I need to get you into bed. I'm gonna help you up. Work with me ok?" she said as she hugged him with both her hands and pulled him upright. Half carrying him, she got him into the den and on the couch. Slowly laying him back she ran into the bathroom, grabbing the bag, a bottle of pills and a cup of water.

Sitting down next to him she placed a pill into his mouth and brought the up to his lips so he could swallow the pill.

"What was that" he whispered as he swallowed.

"Mom and Luke picked up your things from the dorm and stopped by the hospital to get you something for the migraines. It should only take a minute to work" she said as she stroked his hair.

A minute later Tristan opened his eyes.

"It stopped?" Rory asked.

"Almost" said Tristan sounding much better.

"Good" said Rory as she picked up the ring. "As I was saying, or was about to say. I love you. Only you. Always you. I need you to know that. I need you to trust me that I won't hurt you. Please, can you do that?" she asked looking at him.

Tristan stared at Rory. "Where did you ….Rory are you…" he trailed off.

Smiling she said "no I'm not asking you to marry me, not yet. Someday I hope, but not right now. It's a promise ring. I promise to love you, always and forever. But you have to promise to trust me" she said as she slipped the ring onto his finger. "And I got it when I was walking around with Jess" she said. "That's what I was taking so long. I got one for me too" she said sliding the other ring onto her hand.

Tristan stared at the rings on their fingers not knowing what to say. "I…I don't know what to say."

"Say that you trust me. That you'll trust me."

"I trust you. I'll always trust you and I'll always love you" he said as she smiled and leaned down to kiss him. They started at each other for smiling and holding hands.

After a few minutes Tristan asked "what else is in the bag?"

Rory shy smile grew into a mischievous one. "It's funny you should ask" she said as she took out a box of birth control patches. "Condoms are so passé" she said.

Tristan stared at her. "You went to buy sex paraphernalia and a promise ring for your new boyfriend, with your ex boyfriend?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

Rory shrugged "what can I say?" she said laughing.

"You're weird" he said laughing as well.

"You have no idea, buddy. But you're about to find out."

"Can't wait" he said as he pulled her down for a kiss.

--

If anyone finds spelling or grammar errors be nice and let me know.


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